Late March Garden

Today I will do some garden introspection and planning, then take action on some projects.

Agenda:

1. Late March tasks

2. Bed preparation and clean up

3. New spa bed and sand pit area

4. Beneficial Insects

1. Late March tasks:

1. Harvest! I have a tiny bit of bok choy and kale that overwintered, and it will probably flower soon.
2. Bed Prep: I'll be planting onions and carrots outdoors soon, and the beds need to be prepared.
3. Planting: Today - beets!
4. Buy onion plants, and carrot and zinnia seeds
5. Begin Slug Strategies: Remove leftover leaf mulch, sprinkle Sluggo, and set out shelter traps to begin thinning the hoards.
6. Irrigation hose set up: Pull out our soaker hoses, lay it all out and assess the system for damage, make repairs, rethink parts that weren’t adequate -  it’s much easier to lay everything out when I don’t have to work around tender young plants. Wait until April (after last frost) to charge the system.  

2. Prepare beds:
I've already prepared the onion bed (and then couldn't find plants, but I need to prepare the carrot and beet beds next week. Hopefully the small rainfall we got last night won't be a factor.

1. Chop and drop any leftover cover-crop and let it sit for a week or so to break down.
2. Next, remove all the leftover winterizing mulch from beds and toss it all in the compost.
3. Refill raised bed boxes if they are looking empty (organic matter decomposes, so it needs to be replaced every year in the fall or spring. Fill with a blend of sand/silt/clay and compost. If you have in-ground beds (i.e. a lot of clay), a top dressing of compost will help to dry things out and add organic matter to your soil.
4. At this time also add any organic nitrogen amendments, such as feather meal (12-0-0), or a well balanced fertilizer (4-4-4), and lightly rake into the soil. I use Down to Earth Organics because they are reasonably priced, organic, and produced locally in Eugene, Oregon.
5. Stab and wiggle with a digging fork: Spear the ground then wiggle the fork in all directions and gently lift the soil. This loosens and aerates the soil without destroying the structure, and also gently blend any new soil to avoid creating a separate soil horizon. 
6. Lightly work the top inch or so of soil with a scuffle hoe. 
7. Leave soil exposed for now. This will help the soil to warm up to at least 40 degrees for cool tolerant crops and 50+ for warm season crops, and dry out.

3. New spa beds and sand pit area:

I'm still trying to decide how to plant the area around our new deck and spa: The components are some kind of possible screening, a shower area, some low native plantings, new lawn, and a sand pit play area to replace the one we lost.

Today I will draw a plan, make a plant list, dig the sand pit, and then reseed the lawn and mulch it. 

4. Making a tidy mess:

A native garden is purposefully untidy, so as to leave plenty of homes for wildlife. That said, spring is a great time to bring some order to the mess! Most of our native insects emerge from winter hibernation in March when the temperature is above 55 degrees, so I can safely remove some leftover flower stalks and mulch. And I just want to have some aesthetic order!

I took some advise from the North Branch Natives site:

"My favorite way to describe a good garden system is as "a tidy mess" —with plenty of leaves, branches, and possibly some larger limbs to feed all of the wonderful organisms in the soil, and to —yes— provide overwintering material for all of the incredible pollinators that we rely on to hold our food web together."

The tidy mess model is easy:

1. Define the Edges: Install clear boundaries such as stone, brick, or wire fence edging, or use a "natural edge" by cutting a vertical trench boundary along pathways and lawns. Edges also help to keep kids and dogs out of delicate native beds.
2. Plant in Drifts: Organize plants in groups of 3–5 or more of the same species to create a "mass planting" effect, which looks more cohesive and intentional than random, scattered plants.
3. Regularly Edit: Selectively remove (or transplant) self-seeding perennials that are encroaching on paths or on other plants, and cut back native grasses or early bloomers after they seed to tidy up (but leave stalks in the fall).
4. What grows (and falls) in the garden, stays in the garden. except for invasive or unwanted species — these I remove with as little disturbance to the soil as possible
5. Show intent. Sweep the sidewalk and tidy up the border to show the garden is cared for.

To be safe, I choose a warm 60º day to do my yard cleanup, when it should be safe to remove any leftover flower stalks from our yard and do a thorough cleanup without harming our insect friends.

I'm also still releasing the Mason bees. They emerge hungry for pollen and nectar. Oregon Grape, Mahonia, dandelions are all a good source of early nectar and pollen. When adding new flowers, I try to add some that bloom in March for our native friends.